The Wrath of Autumn
by AutumnHatersUnite
Summary: Relationships are put to the test when Autumn attempts to wreak havoc on Wes's and Julian's dates.
1. Morning Breakup

When I arrived at the center fountain in the middle of the school, I could immediately tell that something was up. I surveyed the scene, looking for any abnormalities. My two closest friends, Mia and Payton, sat on a park bench, texting on their phones and sipping lattes. I knew that they were waiting for me, and knowing that made me smile inside. Nishan, the school's brain, sat at a picnic table with his girlfriend/best friend Sakura, peering intently at a laptop screen, probably in the midst of a gaming tournament. Ezra, the biggest flirt at our school (and Payton's boyfriend), strummed a guitar and flirted with some club girls at the same time. Julian, the captain of the football team, was throwing a football back and forth while he tried to explain something to Autumn Brooks, his girlfriend and the biggest loser at this school.

_That's it_, I realized. _That_ was what was off about the scene today. When they first started dating, Autumn and Julian had always got along. And today I could detect the disagreement and hostility emanating off them in spades.

_This is excellent_, I mused to myself. A fight between Julian and Autumn would definitely bring what little popularity Autumn had from dating Julian down. I couldn't understand what all those guys saw in Autumn. She was ugly, whiny, selfish, and completely stank up the social scene here. Yet Julian, a douchebag college guy named Jack Carver, and my own boyfriend, Wes, all just loved her. I legitimately had no idea why.

I pretended to be immersed in my iPhone while I got closer to the feuding couple so that I could listen in without them noticing me.

"Autumn, I've wanted to go to this football camp for a while. Since my freshman year, actually. And now that I've been accepted, you can't be happy for me?" Julian asked indignantly.

"Julian, you just don't care. I've been going through _so _much lately and you just abandon me to go to some stupid football camp? You play football everyday at school!" Autumn cried.

"It's _not _a stupid football camp! Making the NFL All Stars Football program could open so many doors for me! There will be tons of college scouts there!" Julian argued back. "Have you forgotten that you're not the only one with dreams here?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to keep from laughing. Julian's last sentence matched my thoughts exactly.

"You know what? If your stupid football camp is more important than me, then forget it!" Autumn glared, her face contorted into an ugly mask of fury.

"Fine! We should take a break anyway! I don't need to be around someone who disregards the things that matter to me!" Julian roared.

"Fine!" Autumn stormed off.

I slipped my iPhone in the pocket of my white Joie cargos and prepared to leave. I had gotten enough dirt. Knowledge was power, and I certainly had the power to spin things my way. By the end of the day, Autumn Brooks would be deader than last season's Missoni handbag if I had anything to do with it.


	2. Lunchtime Rumors

At lunch, my center table was packed. It was usually crowded, but this time it appeared to be surrounded by what seemed like the entirety of the school.

"I heard that Autumn tried to break Julian's arm so that he wouldn't be able to get in the NFL!" a cheerleader girl exclaimed, her pom-pom-clad hands gesturing widely.

"Julian dumped Autumn because she said that she thought football was stupid! Seriously, what the hell? If she thought that then why would she date a football player in the first place?" a glee girl criticized.

"I heard she was only dating him to make Wes jealous," a prep girl replied, then primly took a bite of her California rolls. My face went frozen and I could feel the blood rushing down my cheeks.

Mia, who sat next to me, noticed the look on my face and gave the prep a murderous look.

"Where did you hear _that_?" Mia asked. Translation: whoever started that rumor was screwed.

The prep girl's eyes widened in fear as she swallowed her bite.

"I—uh, I don't remember," she began. I could see her hands trembling as she fidgeted with the Cartier bracelets on her wrist. "I think it was one of the artist girls that Autumn sometimes hangs out with. She would know about Autumn's love life, wouldn't she?"

Now that I had a suspect in mind, it was time to change the subject before my classmates saw that I couldn't keep my own boyfriend in check.

"Love life?" I mused. "What love life? You mean her and the trashcan she's sitting across from?" I gestured at the only café table that had just one bench, where Autumn sat alone across from a large green dumpster. With that, my table exploded into giggles.

Suddenly, a hush came across my table. I slowly turned around, wanting to see who could cause a tableful of gossipy, giggling girls to shut up so quickly.

It was Julian. I was pretty much immune to his "charms", since I obviously had Wes, but that didn't mean that the rest of the female population at my school was.

"Mind if I sit here with you guys?" Julian asked, a red plastic tray loaded with food perched in his hands.

None of my friends spoke. They all looked at me for the final call. Whatever I said they would back up, even if it wasn't the answer that they were hoping for.

I tilted my head to the side and gave my most winning "nice girl" smile.

"Of course! You're always welcome at our table, Julian," I replied, and the cheerleader and glee girl scooted over to make room for him.

"Thanks," Julian replied, opening a large bottle of Gatorade and shoveling a handful of fries in his mouth.

"How can you eat so much?" the cheerleader girl widened her eyes at him. Now that Julian was officially "on the market", of course they would be hitting on him. I pretended to search for something inside my hot pink Kelly bag, surreptitiously glancing at Autumn to see her reaction. She looked equal parts furious and crestfallen, and I smiled to myself. Even if I didn't already hate her guts, she totally deserved it. She treated all her friends and boyfriends like shit and never appreciated them.

I speared off a piece of lettuce with my fork, trying not to think about what the prep girl had said earlier, but it was hard not to. Even here, it always seemed like Autumn and Wes had lingering feelings for one another when she was_ supposed_ to be dating Julian. But the thought that Wes still cared about her was what truly made me pissed off—and maybe even a little scared. I had complete and total control over my house, my school, my friends, my classmates… but the one thing that I had no control over was Wes's feelings for Autumn. That girl was seriously cramping my style, and she had no right to. Over my dead body would I let a clingy, whiny fashion-challenged loser with ratty sneakers win.


	3. Après-lunch Accusations

Lunch continued uneventfully (well, as uneventful as you can get when half of your lunch table is attempting to flirt with Julian) until I heard the telltale blare of a fire alarm.

_Seriously, a fire drill _right before_ lunch ends?_ _The admin's definitely going to be hearing from me_, I thought indignantly. I slipped my Chloé sunglasses on and headed out to the school's front lawn with Julian, Mia, and the rest of my coterie. Payton had been absent from lunch since she had a Spanish field trip today and left after second period.

While my friends chattered on, I observed the crowd. I couldn't name what—or who—I was looking for until I saw it. Autumn was tearing up yet again… and this time she was in Wes's arms. On the inside, I felt like I was about to boil over, but I had to keep my cool. No one likes a girl that blows up like a volcano. Quickly, I turned around and scrambled in my Kelly bag until I found my second phone. It was a black TracFone that I used when I wished to remain anonymous. I had so many smartphones and backup phones that no one noticed this one, which I used when I wished to remain unidentified and untraceable. I thumbed through the contacts until I hit Wes's name. Keeping the phone concealed under my white Anthropologie cardigan, I pressed_ dial_.

I moved around, weaving through my friends so that they formed a human barricade, keeping me conveniently out of Autumn and Wes's sight. I checked the screen of my phone. He hadn't picked up.

I bit my lower lip, holding back a sigh. Was Autumn that important to him that he just forgot about me, his _girlfriend_? And the untraceable phone call, which was supposed to distract him, didn't even divert his attention from Autumn's teary eyes.

I dialed again.

This time, he picked up. I saw him mouth something to Autumn, then walk away from her to answer the call.

_Time for me to make my move._

"Julian," I began, nudging him. "Can you get Wes for me? Tell him it's really important." I widened my eyes in the same fashion my cheerleader friend had done earlier at lunch, only better. But it didn't mean anything—I was just doing that to goad Julian into doing what I wanted him to do.

"Of course," Julian replied. He sprinted off towards Wes.

As soon as he left, my group immediately started to gossip about Autumn and Julian's breakup again.

"I'm so glad they broke up," the cheerleader girl smiled. "I've wanted to get with Julian since Homecoming, but Autumn's always been in the way."

"What does he even see in her anyway?" a club girl asked. "She's just an overrated art freak."

I snickered. Every time I felt hurt by Autumn and Wes, my friends always cheered me up with their snide comments about Autumn. If it wasn't for Julian and Wes liking her, and Payton being too nice for her own good, Autumn would have been totally friendless and unpopular beyond belief.

I pulled a tube of Stila Lip Glaze out of my bag and reglossed my lips as I waited for Julian to return with Wes. What was taking him so long? Usually, Julian would return quickly. Just then I glimpsed something out of the corner of my eye. _Oh, I see. Julian's gotten sidetracked._

Just a few feet away from where Autumn and Wes were hugging and talking, Julian was talking to… Koh.

I tried to get a better look, but right at that moment, the principal came strolling in. Principal Towers was just a decoy, a wannabe that hoped to obtain a position at my father's company by working at my school. She basically let the students run the school, so if she was getting involved, it meant that things were actually serious.

The courtyard became quiet, since we were unaccustomed to seeing our principal on a daily basis.

"What does she want?" a dancer girl whispered to an artist guy.

"I dunno, beats me," he replied.

We watched, silently, as Principal Towers strode across the lush green lawns of the school and landed in front of Koh and Julian.

"Miss Koh," she began. "Please come with me."

"Why?" Koh snapped. "I didn't do anything."

"I believe that we have evidence that proves otherwise," Principal Towers responded. "The administration has received an anonymous email with video footage that shows you pulling a fire alarm today—the same alarm that caused today's fire drill. Now, come with me, Miss Koh."

"But… I really didn't do it. Not this time." Koh retorted. Her eyes latched onto Julian's. "I swear, I was framed." But Julian had heard enough. He shook his head slightly, and moved away from her as Koh was lead to Principal Towers' office.

"Oh, she totally did it," a filmmaker girl declared.

"I know right? It's so obvious. Even the rebel guys wouldn't pull a stunt like that today. Not when we're so close to graduation," a hipster girl replied.

I wasn't too sure, though… for some reason, I felt like Koh was telling the truth. But then I caught a glimpse of Autumn and Wes, and I realized that I had bigger things to worry about first...


	4. A little B & E

After Principal Towers lead a scowling Koh to her office, the front lawn exploded with gossip again. As Julian headed back to us, I noticed that he seemed quite distraught.

"What's wrong?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"It's… it's Koh. I can't believe that she would do something like that! Especially after we talked!" Julian exclaimed.

I was stunned. I hadn't really seen Koh and Julian interact much.

"About what?" I prodded.

"Well, I couldn't stand seeing the cheerleaders calling her a 'psycho rebel' when they discovered that she was the one who put itching powder all over their uniforms. I mean, they did kinda deserve it," Julian began.

_No, they didn't_, I scowled to myself. Can't she do that to _Autumn_ instead?

"Everyone was talking about how much of a troublemaker she was and it reminded me of what Hope had gone through," Julian confided.

"I didn't want to see her suffer like my sister had, so I offered to help her rebuild her image here, and it seemed like people were becoming more accepting… and then this happened. I can't believe that she would do something like this when I went out of my way to help her!" Julian boomed.

I looked at Julian closely. He did seem angry… but even more than that, I could see the hurt in his eyes. He thought Koh had betrayed him.

"I can't believe it either," I replied. Before Julian could retort, I cut him off. "That's why we're going in."

"Huh?" Julian asked, a quizzical expression on his face.

"Follow me." I ordered. I nudged Mia. "Let's go."

And off we went in the direction of the Admin building.

"Hey, where are you going?" the cheerleader girl asked, batting her eyelashes at Julian.

"We're leaving." I gave her a _You'll-be-deader-than-last-season's-handbag-if-you-fuck-with-me _look. She quickly turned around and immersed herself in a conversation with a glee girl. It wasn't like she had a chance with Julian, anyway—the way he got mad at them for trash-talking Koh was proof of that.

At the admin building, the receptionists greeted me with warm, overtly saccharine greetings. I knew that they were only sucking up to me because they expected to be in with my father's company, but this time it would prove useful.

"Hello, Miss Elstead," I began, deliberately pronouncing her name wrong. This was how to tell if someone was a suck-up—if they didn't have the balls to correct you for that, then they almost certainly were one.

Miss Elstead only grinned in response. "What can I do for you?"

I gave my signature "Student of the Month" smile. "We have an important project," I started, gesturing at Julian and Mia. "It's for the town council, on innovative leaders in education." I emphasized the cheese, knowing that gullible adults absolutely ate up that bullshit. "And Mia here," I gave a sweet, caring smile, "desires greatly to interview Principal Towers about her excellence in pioneering visionary education." I put my hand on my heart. "Principal Towers has done so much for the school, we just wanted to thank her for her contributions."

"Oh—of course!" Miss Elstead looked rather taken aback. "But Principal Towers is busy with a student right now, so perhaps Miss Warren can interview her later?"

"Oh, what a shame," I made my eyes appear downcast and sorrowful. "The town council wished to have the project done before three p.m. If Principal Towers can't do so now, they would be greatly disappointed."

Miss Elstead nervously gripped her ballpoint pen. "I see." Her bulbous eyes widened and the crinkles on her forehead seemed to multiply. I waited three seconds, then I put the poor woman out of her misery.

"Mia, why don't you interview Principal Towers in the Admissions Office?" I widened my eyes. "It's empty, so it'll be perfect! And the student that she's seeing can just wait here in the office with you!"

"Yes, that can be done!" Miss Elstead replied, her flabby wrists shaking.

"Excellent!" I fake-chirped. "That's a great idea, Miss Elstead! What would I do without you?"

Miss Elstead beamed. Making her think that the idea was her own always worked. Some adults were just too stupid and too predictable for their own good.

"I'll go get Principal Towers! She'll be so happy for the interview!" Miss Elstead ran off towards her office. I stared at the cellulite that was ill-concealed by her knee-length skirt in disgust.

"Hey! What am I supposed to interview Principal Towers about?" Mia asked indignantly.

"You'll bullshit it, Mia. I'm sure you can come up with something. Hasn't your dad been interviewed various times before?" I replied.

"I guess," Mia consented. "But you'll still owe me one," she snapped.

I smirked to myself. I had already put a vintage Chanel purse on hold for her in case I needed a favor. After all, my policy was to always think three steps ahead of everyone else. Then, I turned to Julian.

"After Mia distracts Towers, we're going to search her room. You look through her filing cabinet, and I'll take her computer." I explained in a low voice. Julian nodded.

"Here we are!" Miss Elstead squeaked as she brought Principal Towers to Mia. "And you will sit right here, Miss Koh. No running away under my watch!" She waggled her finger at Koh and turned around to talk to Principal Towers. Koh stared daggers at the back of her cheap red polyester sweater. Then she noticed Julian, flushed, and turned her gaze away from him. _Hmm._

While the inane adults were distracted, Julian and I snuck through the hallway towards Principal Towers' office. Quickly, we rushed in and I locked the door. If we were caught, our alibi would be that we were waiting for Principal Towers since we had additional questions for the town council project.

While Julian searched the file drawers, I booted up Principal Towers' computer. Luckily, she had been dragged out of her office in Miss Elstead's haste, and her computer was left unlocked. No hacking would be required _this_ time.

Principal Towers had mentioned an anonymous email, so I looked through her inbox for it. My eye caught an indecipherable jumble of letters and numbers, and I clicked on it.

_Principal Towers,_

_Here is a video that you'll find is worth watching._

_-Anonymous_

I clicked on the video link. On it, a girl with long, wavy black hair like Koh's pulled down a fire alarm. The video was short and about the length of a Vine. Quickly, I took a tiny flash drive out of my Kelly handbag and copied the video and email to it. After ejecting the flash drive, I perused the rest of Principal Towers' emails and found nothing noteworthy. After making sure that everything was exactly the way Principal Towers had left it, I joined Julian in his search.

"Found anything?" I asked.

"Well, I've found Koh's file," he replied. He handed it to me. It was thick compared to the average student's and full of referrals and detention slips. I smirked; my files at my previous schools were just as bad. I looked at the most recent entries. _Student nearly caused fire in rebel hangout; lighter confiscated. Student responsible for setting off school fire detectors due to smoke generated from lighter use_, etc.

The evidence all pointed to Koh. In fact, it matched up perfectly… _too_ perfectly. I knew a frame job when I saw one. And the fact that she had been framed before only served to prove that she had many enemies who desired to see her fall.

"I have an idea. Let's get out of here first," I said.

Julian and I quickly exited Principal Towers' office. I opened the back exit.

"Here," I pointed at the door. "It's easier to sneak out this way."

"And how do you know this?" Julian raised his eyebrows.

"Have you forgotten that I designed the blueprints for the school? And even if I didn't, I've been in enough administration buildings to have an idea." I snickered.

Fifteen minutes later, Julian and I met Mia in one of the jock hangouts. The basketball team was practicing some free throws while the cheerleading squad pretended to rehearse their new routine while actually not-so-subtly checking out the basketball players. I flipped the light switch off. The jocks shouted and the cheerleaders screamed. I pulled my flashlight out of my Kelly bag and waved it around, garnering everyone's attention.

"Show's over, guys," I announced. "The power's out, so you all will have to take it to the next hangout." I pointed my flashlight at the jock hangout next door. One by one, they left until Julian, Mia, and I were left alone. I locked the entrance door behind me and pulled out my flash drive.

"Julian, can I see your laptop?" I asked. Julian strode up the steps of the jock hangout and returned shortly with it. Quickly, I plugged the flash drive in.

"What's that?" Mia asked.

I pressed play on the video. This time, I took a closer look. It _did_ look like Koh, but what was particular was that her back was turned to the camera. I only saw her hair… not her face.

"Omigosh. So Koh really did do it. How dare she? My freaking Jimmy Choos were stuck in the grass during the drill today because of her!" Mia growled.

I was about to reply to Mia, but then something in her comment reminded me of something. Wordlessly, I repeated the video.

Koh was wearing _white sneakers_.

I thought back to Principal Towers' confrontation with Koh today in the front lawn. She was wearing her usual combat boots. My eyes widened. The quality wasn't that good, but I could clearly tell that she wasn't wearing her black combat boots in the video.

"Mia… look at Koh's shoes," I hissed.

"So I can see her beat-up combat boots?" Mia snickered.

"Hey!" Julian cried. _How come he's getting super defensive of Koh lately? _I wondered.

As she glanced at the screen, her eyes grew big. "She's not wearing combat boots! What the heck? I swear, she was wearing them today when Towers went to collect her."

I looked pointedly at her.

"Oh! You mean… the person in the video _isn't _Koh?" Mia queried.

Julian quietly let out a sigh of relief.

"It isn't," I conceded. "But who is?" I observed the white sneakers again. "Who would want to frame Koh?"

_**Clue: There **_**is**_** a hint somewhere in my writings... **_


	5. The Importance of Shoes

Shoes. They were one of the most important things to me. Not just because I appreciated the panache of a Christian Louboutin, the elegance of a Jimmy Choo, or the flair of a Manolo Blahnik, but because they told you everything you needed to know about a person. You could wear a nice dress, contort your features with makeup, and pretend to be something you're not, but your shoes will tell who you really are. People may adorn themselves, but often they forgot about their shoes.

Which is why whenever I meet a new person, the first thing I look at is their shoes. For example, Autumn's ratty sneakers told me that she didn't care about fashion, she fancied herself an artist since her shoes had paint splatters on them, and she was… economically disadvantaged since she kept cavorting around in shitty sneakers that were probably from Payless.

Mia's Miu Miu kitten heels and Payton's Ouch Ouch Pretty Feet platforms told me that we would be the very best of friends, and I was right.

But this time, the minor details had made me realize something: Koh, our classmate, had been framed. She wore black combat boots, and the person framing her had worn white sneakers.

"So, do you know who it is?" Julian asked me anxiously.

Mentally, I analyzed the evidence and sifted through a long list of enemies. "Done," I announced. "Mia, what do you normally wear to cheer practice?"

Mia gave me an _are-you-kidding? _look. "My cheer uniform, duh."

"What _else_ do you wear?" I snickered. "Hint: you wouldn't be caught dead wearing them out of cheer practice."

"My—my cheer sneakers," Mia's eyes widened in realization. "You can't seriously think _I'm_ the one that did it! I was with you all day!"

"Mia?" Julian cried. "How could you?"

"Both of you, shut up," I gave them a pointed look. "Obviously, it's not Mia. Who else do we know that wears cheer sneakers and has a grudge against our school?"

Mia's eyes narrowed. "_Kara_. Why am I not surprised?"

I thought back to the first time I had met Kara. My school had just opened, and Max and Kara were waiting out for me in the school parking lot. I remembered dissing her clown makeup and the scowl on her face afterwards. But before I had even started talking to them, I had looked at their shoes. Max was wearing swamp green and yellow athletic sneakers, and Kara had been wearing white cheerleading sneakers.

"It's time to confront her," I snickered.


	6. Cheerleader Confrontations

Mia, Julian, and I drove up to the security booth.

"We're here to see Kara Sinclair," I barked. I handed the bald guard (who looked like a walking advertisement for steroids) my driver's license. His eyes bulged.

"V-very well, Miss," he replied, his voice quaking. I'd like to think that it was my usual intimidating self, but it was actually my last name which had that effect on people. Typical. One glance at my ID, and that intimidating guard transformed into a stuttering kitten.

The guard opened the barrier gates, and I slid my Mercedes through. As luck would have it, I nabbed a primo parking spot. Too bad we weren't going to be there for long…

After locking my car, I quickly inspected my hair and face in the side mirror. Having a single flaw would provide my enemies with all the fodder they needed in a showdown. Luckily, I _looked_ flawless. On the outside, of course. My inside… let's just say that some people think I'm the best damn thing that ever walked upon this green earth, and others would do _anything_, absolutely anything at all, to see me fall.

But enough of that. I snapped out of my thoughts and focused on the task at hand: wrangling a confession from Kara. That was my plan A. If things went well, my plan B wouldn't be needed…

Mia led the way to the gym, where the cheerleaders would be practicing. I opened the door a crack, ensuring that Kara was right where I expected her to be. With my shoulders pulled back and my head held high, I strode through the Hearst High gymnasium like I owned it. Which I could have if I really wanted to, but who wants to buy a piece of shit like Hearst High?

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Kara stewing.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she snapped.

I walked up to her, closing the distance between us.

"The better question is, what are _you _doing, framing my classmate like that?" I dropped my tone to a near whisper. "Did you seriously think that no one would find out? Oh, poor little desperate Kara, always forgetting the minor details. So, Kara, why would you do it? Jealousy? Another one of your _almost_-decent revenge schemes?" My eyes glimmered with venom as Kara started to spew in rage.

"Your stupid friend has wrecked my cheer practices for the last time. If she gets suspended for pulling down a fire alarm at your school… who's gonna say that it's my fault? I was at cheer practice the whole time, and my squad will back that up." Kara glared at her squad, whose faces were filled with fear. As Mia looked at the eyes of her former teammates, a look of sadness darted across her features as she remembered that Kara had treated her exactly the same way before she joined my school.

I made a mental note to treat her to a spa weekend later. I couldn't stand to see my best friend so sad.

"You'll never be able to prove that it was me." Kara hissed.

"Oh, really? I think I just did." I snickered. I waved my phone, which was still recording every word we said, at her. "Later, bitch."

After double-checking that my phone was intact and still with me, I strode out of the room with Mia and Julian.

Later, after we were in the car, Julian asked "I don't get it. How did Kara confess?"

I smirked. "She described the crime, even though I never told her what she supposedly did."


	7. A Dish Best Served Cold

After we had explained everything to Principal Towers and Koh's name was cleared, our group of friends went out for some ice cream at Mabel's, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor.

"I can't believe that Kara would stoop so low!" Payton exclaimed as she scooped up a spoonful of her Peppermint Paradise Sundae.

"Well, I can," Wes spoke up. "She's had it out for our school since day one."

Julian nodded in agreement.

"So, Koh, what exactly did you do at those cheer practices that made Kara so mad?" Sakura asked before she took a large bite of the Banana Split Bonanza that she and Nishan were sharing. When Nishan ordered that special for them, Sakura had given him a_ look_. _Trouble in relationship paradise? _I wondered.

Koh smirked. "Let's just say that Kara's not a fan of food coloring. Or stink bombs. Or replacing the pom-pom material with rubber snakes."

Everyone laughed.

"Oh man, I would love to see the look on her face!" Julian cried. His face suddenly morphed from laughing to serious.

"Hey, Koh, I've been meaning to ask you something, but I got sidetracked by this whole Kara thing."

"Yes?" Koh asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you—would you like to go out sometime? I know this cool bowling alley that we could check out," he began, his root-beer-brown eyes pleading like a puppy dog's.

"Aww!" Payton squealed.

"Shh, Payton!" Mia whisper-hissed. "She hasn't even replied yet!"

Everyone stared at Koh, waiting for her response. Her lips curled up in a devious smile.

"Sure," she smirked. "I'd love to go out with you."

"Yay!" Payton exclaimed. "I've shipped you two since, like, forever!" Ezra took advantage of her distraction and carved out a big chunk of her sundae.

"Hey!" Payton lightly slapped his arm away. "Now _I _get to have some of yours. It's only fair!" Everyone laughed as Payton took a dollop of Ezra's Rocky Road Mudslide Supreme.

In the flurry of conversation, I felt someone nudge at my arm.

"That reminds me, _we _haven't gone on a date in a while," Wes murmured. "How about next Friday?" He smirked.

"Hmm," I pretended to check my appointment calendar on my iPhone. Even if there _was _something, I could change it and make them wait. After a few seconds, I looked up.

"I think Friday can work," I fluttered my DiorShow-coated eyelashes at him.

"Great!" Wes grinned. "I've got something special planned for you."

I smiled to myself. He was always doing things like that, surprising me with special dates. I was so lucky to have someone like him… but unfortunately, he came with a problem that was always threatening to drive a wedge in our relationship. A problem named Autumn Brooks. My eyes widened as suddenly I realized something. No wonder our outing was so peaceful and perfect… Autumn wasn't here!

But I had realized that too soon as the stained-glass door of Mabel's opened… and in came the devil in ratty sneakers herself, Autumn Brooks.

_Fuck my life_, I groaned to myself.

"Hey, everyone!" Autumn chirped. "What did I miss?" She raised her hand and waved it wildly like a three-year-old. "Menu, please!" As if things couldn't get any worse, Autumn decided to take a seat at the table Wes and I were sitting at. (We were all sitting in twos and threes in tables next to each other.)

"Hey, Wes," Autumn cooed.

"Hey," Wes replied. I dug my Chanel Black Satin manicure into my Agent Provocateur garter-covered thigh.

Luckily, I was saved from watching any more of Autumn's flirting as Payton bounded up to our table.

"Autumn! You'll never guess what happened! Julian asked Koh out!" She squealed. "Aren't they the cutest couple ever?"

Autumn's face turned pale. Payton flushed as she realized her mistake.

"Oh!" Payton cried. "I forgot! I'm sorry!" Her kind face filled with sympathy. It seemed like Payton, along with the rest of the student body, had forgotten that Julian had broken up with Autumn. Just like they should have. Autumn didn't deserve any of the guys she got.

I bit my lip and took a sip of my Mabel's Diet Delights shake to conceal my smirk.

"You never care about anyone else but yourself!" Autumn screeched. "All you care about is being a materialistic, date-obsessed _party girl_! My boyfriend just broke up with me and all you care about is his new girlfriend!" Her face got red and her eyes became squinty. Autumn burst into tears (yet _again_) and ran for the bathroom.

Payton started to go after her, but I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "No. Just give her some space," I ordered in a soft, sweet tone, sounding like a concerned friend when really I could give a rat's ass about Autumn. "I'll take care of this."

Before I entered the bathroom, I checked over my shoulder to make sure that no one was following me on the way there. _Perfect_, I thought, seeing that all my friends were still at their tables.

I opened the door, and, just like I expected, Autumn was crying in an unlocked stall. I flung open the stall door loudly. Autumn looked up, shocked, momentarily distracted from her crying spree.

"Autumn, are you okay?" I asked in my "sweet-as-honey" voice.

Autumn's eyes grew big. She wasn't expecting _this_. Especially since we didn't have an audience.

I patted her on the shoulder consolingly. "I know how hard breakups can be," I murmured in a soft voice. This was total bullshit, of course—before I met Wes, I was _always_ the dumper and _never_ the dumpee. And none of my exes had come even remotely close to breaking my heart.

I continued on with my charade."I know we haven't always got along, but you can always talk to me. Breakups are always hard on everyone. I knew Julian meant a lot to you," I lied smoothly. She didn't really give a rat's ass about Julian—she was way too selfish for that.

Autumn looked at me. Her eyes were red. Her cheeks were tear-stained. I had never seen a more pathetic sight… well, except for maybe her ratty sneakers.

"Ju-Julian and I had been fighting for a while n-now," Autumn choked. "He said I n-never let him pursue his career goals." She sobbed into the Spring Floral dress that she had stolen from a prep classmate of ours (like _she_ would actually own anything stylish), wiping her nose on the skirt of the dress. _Eww! _I screamed inwardly.

"He—he's so selfish!" Autumn blubbered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "He likes football and his fr-friends and his family m-more than me!"

Now, I was sick of faking nice.

"Maybe because you're a selfish bitch," I hissed, my normally vibrant brown eyes turning into black cesspools of venom. "No wonder Julian dumped you. No wonder Payton and everyone else forgot about your breakup. No wonder the entire student body hates your guts."

Autumn gasped.

I pulled some tissue from the tissue paper dispenser and practically threw it in her face.

"And here," I continued. "Try wiping your nose on some _tissue_ instead of your clothes. And _don't _come back to us when you're done."

And with that, I left the bathroom.

When I got back, I everyone was joking around and laughing except for Payton, who seemed to be anxiously waiting my return.

"Is she okay?" Payton asked me.

"Actually, she's feeling ill and doesn't want to see anyone right now. She's gonna go home with a cab. She said to go on without her." I said in a seemingly serious tone.

"Okay," Payton replied. "Tell her I hope she gets better soon!"

_Let's hope the opposite is true_, I thought to myself as we paid our bills and left to go to the movie theater.


	8. Friends Like These

Monday at school, Payton, Mia, and I were sipping our lattes on the center bench in front of the Admissions Office like we usually did when Autumn walked up to us.

"Payton!" Autumn roared. "I thought you were my friend!"

"Huh?" Payton replied. "We _are _friends, Autumn!"

"Sure," Autumn hissed. "Friends who don't invite their friends to places!"

"Is this a rehash of the shopping trip again?" Mia cut in. "If so, you really need to shut up about it. Payton already forced me to apologize." She glared at Autumn.

I was the only one besides Autumn herself who knew what had actually went on—she had seen the Facebook photos of us all at the movies without her. And the candid shot I took of Koh and Julian flirtatiously fighting over popcorn was definitely the icing on the pissed-off-Autumn cake.

"You really need to stop bringing up the past," I told Autumn condescendingly. I gestured for Mia and Payton to get up. "Until then, find another group to hang out with if we offend you so much."

Payton looked torn.

"Look, Payton, she just came up and started accusing you of something she didn't do. Obviously, she's in a bad mood and needs her space. So the best thing you can do is give her some distance, okay? And if that distance is with another group of friends, then it's with another group of friends. Let's go." Finally, Payton left with Mia and me, leaving an angry Autumn in the distance.


	9. Fashion Sense of a Drunken Clown

At lunch, my center table was abuzz with gossip about Julian and Koh's upcoming date.

"I can't believe that skank stole him from me!" my cheerleader friend cried.

"He wasn't yours in the first place," I reminded her in my "sweet-as-honey" voice, to make it seem like it wasn't an insult when it actually was. Mia snickered.

"Isn't she, like, a criminal? I heard she made a girl on the dance team become bald," a prep girl remarked.

"You know what's actually criminal?" I butted in. I pointed my head towards Autumn, who had just entered the cafeteria. "That bargain bin dress Ratty Sneakers is wearing."

My friends erupted into laughter and exchanged high-fives. Autumn looked over at us and her eyes narrowed.

"Ew, she's coming over here!"a glee girl squealed.

"Pretend like you're deaf," I directed my friends.

Autumn came right up to my table.

"Where's Payton?" she asked me.

No one responded.

"Listen, I don't have time to play your silly games. Where the heck is Payton?" she asked again.

Still, no one responded to her.

Mia then pulled up Facebook on her phone and showed me the picture of Koh and Julian throwing pieces of popcorn at each other at the movies.

"Look, aren't they the cutest couple ever?" she asked me with a devious glint in her eye.

"I know, right?" I smirked. "I've got to say, Julian definitely upgraded."

"Yeah," a cheerleader girl agreed. "His ex had, like, the fashion sense of a drunken clown."

We all snickered.

Autumn's face became red and her brown eyes narrowed in anger.

"Fine! You guys won't help me, I guess I'll have to help myself!" She stormed off as my table exploded in laughter.


	10. Get Over Him

"Ugh, I don't know who she thinks she is," I hissed to Mia as we touched up our makeup in the center prep hangout after lunch. "Like, can she stop coming up and talking to us like we're her friends?"

"She just wants to get in with us," Mia replied as she slathered a tube of M.A.C. Lipglass across her lips.

"But she never will," I snickered.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a text from a club girl.

_OMG, come quick to the quad! Shit's going down between Autumn and Julian!_

"Mia, we've got to go." I placed my Fendi Spy bag over my shoulder. "Ratty Sneakers refuses to let her ex go."

Out on the quad, a slew of onlookers watched on as Autumn picked a fight with Julian.

"How dare you do this to me, Julian!" Autumn yelled. "I always knew that you were selfish, placing football and your friends and family over me, but this takes the cake!"

Julian put his hands up. "What did I even do?!" he exclaimed.

"You know what you did!" Autumn roared. "Breaking up with me for that—that _criminal _Koh!"

"Hey, I have the right to date whoever I want to date!" Julian exclaimed. "We're not even dating anymore, so why would you care?"

"You broke up with me just yesterday!" Autumn exclaimed. "And then you have the nerve to flirt with Koh at the movies and show it off on Facebook! How dare you!"

I had heard enough. I strolled to the center of the quad.

"Autumn, do you think that Julian is a fence?" I snapped.

My friends snickered. They were as in the dark as Autumn, but they knew what was coming up.

Autumn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "No."

"Then _get over him_."

The quad blew up in laughter as Autumn's face reddened yet again and she stormed off, shooting a dirty look at Julian, my friends, and I.

"Good riddance," Mia muttered.


End file.
